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Juan Manuel Álvarez
|job = Laborer|pathology = Mass Murderer|victims = 11 killed 117 attempted|time = |charges = Train Wreck Capital Murder|sentence = 11 life sentences (consecutive) Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.|capture = January 26, 2005|status = Incarcerated|alias = The Metrolink Killer}} Juan Manuel Álvarez is a mass murderer responsible for the January 26, 2005 Glendale Train Crash, which killed 11 people and injured 117. Background Juan Manuel Álvarez was born on February 26, 1979. The father of two young children, he worked as a laborer and handyman in Compton, California. Álvarez was known to be a methamphetamine addict, and prone to suicidal and delusional tendencies. Months before the crash, he became erratic, controlling and threatening towards his family, prompting his wife, Carmelita Ochoa, to file a restraining order against him. Glendale Train Crash, Arrest, and Imprisonment On January 26, 2005, just before 6:03 a.m., Álvarez left his Jeep Cherokee Sport Compact SUV in the path of a southbound Metrolink commuter train which eventually collided with the vehicle. The train jackknifed and struck other trains by the side of the tracks, leading to 11 fatalities and 117 injured. Several involved agencies (including the National Transportation Safety Board and the Glendale Police Department) investigated the crash, and eventually Álvarez, whom by then had fled to his friends house at Atwater Village, Los Angeles, was arrested. He was indicted of Capital Murder involving a train wreck, a seldom-used law, and accused by the prosecution to have deliberately intended to cause the crash in order to attract attention on himself, after his marriage had turned into a failure. Álvarez and the defense, on the other hand, claimed that the crash was the result of a reckless suicide attempt. This version was allegedly confirmed by wounds Álvarez inflicted to himself with a knife, just before changing his mind and fleeing from the tracks (at that time he was impaired due to the wounds, thus unable to move his SUV). Conversely, some speculated the wounds were inflicted after the crash. Álvarez was eventually found guilty of 11 counts of first degree-murder with special circumstances and one count of arson related to the incident, and condemned to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. He was acquitted of the train wreck charge. Modus Operandi Either deliberately or accidentally, Álvarez didn't/couldn't move his SUV, which he had parked on the path of an ongoing train, away from the tracks. However, as it wasn't ever really determined if his act was intentional or accidental, talking about M.O. could be inappropriate. Profile Álvarez was said to be prone to suicidal tendencies and delusional behaviour. Months before the crash (on his wife's account) he had become erratic, threatening and controlling towards his family. Many accused him of orchestrating the crash because of his need for recognition and attention. If this be true, it would suggest a narcissistic or istrionic personality disorder. He was also a known methanphetamine addict. Known Victims *January 26, 2005, Glendale, Los Angeles County, California: 11 killed and 117 injured in the train crash: **Manuel Alcala, 51 **Julia Bennett, 44 **Alfonso Caballero, 62 **Elizabeth Hill, 62 **Henry Kilinski, 39 **Scott McKeown, 42 **Thomas Ormiston, 58 **William Parent, 53 **Leonardo Romero, 53 **Deputy James Tutino, 47 **Don Wiley, 58 **117 unnamed people On Criminal Minds *Season Ten: **"Hero Worship" - While Álvarez has yet to be directly mentioned or referenced on the show, he appears to have been an inspiration for Allen Archer - Both are unintentional mass murderers who had suicidal tendencies, and who's attacks were only intended to be small-scale, but ended up becoming mass murders instead (Archer was intending to inflict injury on only one person that he would then save, while Álvarez allegedly attempted to commit suicide by having the train ram through his SUV). Even their physical appearances are very similar. Sources *Wikipedia's article on the 2005 Glendale Train Crash *Murderpedia's article on Álvarez Category:Real People Category:Real Life Narcissists Category:Real World Criminals Category:Real Life Killers Category:Real Life Mass Murderers Category:Incarcerated Real World Criminals Category:Unreferenced Criminals